Inside and out, Eagles’ receiver Agholor finally seems to be catching on

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson benched wide receiver Nelson Agholor (17) for a game last season. But after an uncertain winter, the USC product appears to be on the upswing and is battling to be the starting slot receiver.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

PHILADELPHIA >> People are starting to notice Nelson Agholor, and not just for his dropped passes. Admittedly, however, he had an ugly one Monday.

Carson Wentz dropped back and lofted a fairly smooth spiral through the artificial air of the indoor field deep to a perfectly wide open Agholor ... who promptly had the football bounce off him.

Yeah, that drew some instant rave reviews.

“I lost it in the lights,” Agholor would explain later, joining the lament of so many great Philadelphia outfielders (and one hockey goalie). But then, you could hardly blame Agholor, since rain had pushed the Eagles inside their “bubble” facility Monday, the one with the white-on-white ceiling that is anything but friendly to the common cornea.

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When he didn’t have to look that high, Agholor spent a lot of time impressing the crowd of bubbling players and observers during the morning session. He made several difficult catches, he showed his skills on return drills, and subsequently, he exuded a lot of confidence.

Maybe it was that last turn that truly spotlighted Agholor as a different player in this, his third Eagles training camp.

“Definitely, because at the end of the day I’ve been building good habits,” Agholor said. “That’s what’s going to carry me come Thursday, is the habits I’ve already built. The technique; my understanding and the speed from my game. That’s what I want to show Thursday.”

It is Thursday when the Eagles finally escape their training camp bubble and align in Green Bay for the start of the 2017 preseason. To Agholor, it could be a re-coming out party.

“I think I have a good feel for my body and my awareness of the game right now,” he said, “and I feel like I’m in a better place today than I was a year ago.”

Even when the subject of that botched would-be training camp TD pass came up, the one that appeared to rebound off one of his shoulder pads, Agholor handled it with humor and ease.

“Actually,” he said, “the ball hit me in my head. Hey, stuff like that happens. The game of football, you know? I’d have gotten behind the defense and caught that and scored (outdoors). So at the end of the day that’s over with. Next play, line up and run by him again.”

Agholor did that more than once. He caught a couple of other offerings by Wentz in traffic. He showed extra edge to his cuts, extra glue with his hands.

“I thought I had good plays, and I thought I left one out there — but I couldn’t see it,” Agholor said. “It’s going to happen. You’re going to be in stadiums with big lights and you’re going to be in indoor stadiums, so that’s why I’m trying to work on tracking the ball, with a little tennis ball. So I can use my eyes better.”

Indeed, Agholor had spent a long time at the end of the practice session tracking the flight of a little greenish-yellowish fuzzy dot fired high into that indoor sky. While other receiving candidates spun their wheels and missed a lot of the lobs, Agholor caught most of his.

Then he proceeded to ace another drill that appeared to be like a game of tennis ball pepper, him catching with one hand instead of a glove. In short, inside or out, with football or tennis ball, the product of USC and hyped 2015 rookie is spending a lot of time suddenly looking like a versatile offensive weapon.

This after two tepid learning seasons and one very publicized benching last year. But this Nelson Agholor, he says, is a more confident and skilled player.

“I respect the decision Doug (Pederson) made,” Agholor said of his one-game scratch last season, which happened to come against the Packers on a Nov. 28 Monday night. “At the end of the day Doug wants what’s better for this team. As for myself, I appreciate whatever comes at me.”

It appeared somewhat doubtful that another Eagles season would be coming Agholor’s way when he wasn’t targeted at all in the season finale against Dallas on New Year’s Day. But he got to work shortly thereafter. He impressed during spring OTAs. Now what’s coming his way are a whole lot of targeted compliments.

“I really do think Nelson’s gotten over the hump,” offensive coordinator Frank Reich said Monday. “He’s had a great spring and a great training camp and is making a ton of plays out there. We’re always going to have a miss or two; every position does. But we’re very pleased with how he’s playing, making a lot of plays. You know when he’s on the field; I think the defense knows when he’s on the field. He’s been a threat.”

Considering the Eagles spent nicely in the offseason for a pair of accomplished veteran receivers in Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, Agholor seems to be mostly competing with holdover teammate Jordan Matthews for the Birds’ slot receiver spot. That was Matthews’ job to lose over the past three seasons, and so far, the competitive heat seems to be on. Matthews is on an expiring contract, is somewhat slow coming off an ouchy knee that slowed him in the spring. But he says he’s going to be ready when called upon.

Yet the competition between the two for a starting role is yet to play out.

“Sometimes we’ll switch guys up and see what a defense does from a coverage standpoint,” Reich said, “and then we want to attack that coverage. And within that coverage there’s matchups and within those matchups there’s certain routes that fit certain guys better than others. So with Jordan, we play to a player’s strengths and the good thing is we have some players that have some strengths to play to.”

Agholor had his obvious skills as his greatest strengths. But now he seems to be aligning it with a newfound confidence that is turning him into a more dangerous weapon.

“Hey, competition makes you better,” Agholor said. “If that’s the case, I haven’t really looked at that at all, because I play outside and inside awfully well. So at the end of the day I focus on being Nelson, and that’s a versatile receiver.